Alibaba.com, one of the world’s largest business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce marketplaces with a virtually unlimited catalogue of products from over 200,000 suppliers, today officially kicked off its annual virtual March Expo (to take place until 31st March 2023), aimed at connecting buyers and sellers from around the world to help them discover new products, services, and possibilities to grow their business.
Over the course of the month, more than two million new products will be available from over 200,000 global suppliers, enabling UK SMEs to bolster their catalogue of unique and differentiated products at the click of a button. According to Wunderman Thompson, 44% of UK businesses used online channels to source in 2022, a figure expected to increase to 51% in five years’ time; however, despite rising usage, 47% find the B2B buying experience online frustrating.
March Expo will see Alibaba.com leverage innovative digital technologies to make online sourcing easier than ever before, while helping manage global supply chain pressures. Over the coming weeks, it will host thousands of livestream factory tours helping buyers reduce risk through enhanced insight into their suppliers of choice.
This will be supported by the launch of an upgraded Trade Assurance – a comprehensive service umbrella designed to protect SMEs along the whole sourcing journey, from payment to delivery. Through Trade Assurance backed orders at March Expo, SMEs can benefit from on-time and guaranteed deliveries, up to 60-days flexible credit after shipment, and can access Alibaba.com’s Easy Return Service, enabling SMEs to return goods to local warehouses across the UK free of charge.
The wide range of tools and services available on Alibaba.com will ultimately enable UK SMEs to source more effectively both during March Expo and for the remainder of 2023.
